Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Valedictorian debate in Texas

Here's the link to the story:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...s/052908dnmetvaledictorian.3b254412.html

I would be interested to hear your comments.

(I didn't even know you could have a 5.xxx GPA. When I went to high school it was 99.xxx. Shows my age!)

Outrageous. As the highest ranking graduate, she should receive the scholarship.

I totally agree - she should be valedictorian and she should definitely get the scholarship. Ridiculous. Although, I've always thought the title Valedictorian was a bit meaningless from my own experience. I graduated in the top 10 at my high school. A number of those kids in the top ten were taking shop, cooking, and a full load of study halls as opposed to AP classes.

But I don't Understand how you can have a GPA of 5.8+? Is she getting A+++'s? No GPA calculator I found online could possibly arrive at this number either. Anyone?

I don't know how they calculated that either. Maybe some classes are worth more points than others? We moved the summer before my junior year and I graduated with honors from my new high school. I didn't have the highest GPA, but I felt a little ripped off because it was clear to me that a B+ at my GT high school in History should have been worth at least an A at the new public high school...

Oh - ok. I just found an answer to my own question on yahoo answers.


I like this a lot. my GPA would have been sky high with this system!

We didn't have AP or Honors classes in my high school. Just regular classes.

What would you do if you were this girl's parents? The title itself isn't meaningful, but that scholarship would sure be worth something. Would it be worth suing over? I'm just asking because I wonder if any of our kids will be in that situation. Of course, for me, that's a ways down the line.

With a perfect ACT score, I would be surprised if this young woman didn't have scholarships/college offers coming out of her ears.

Don't you think this is more over the title than the scholarship? It sounds like she really wanted to be the valedictorian and is disappointed that she won't be given that title after she has worked so hard. Those of you who were valedictorian's, did it mean a lot to you to be given that title?

I have to admit that I am astounded that they are sticking to the letter of the law with the 4 year ruling. It makes no sense whatsoever. But I bet kim is right and she will have all kinds of scholarship offers.

OT : kcab - why are you in a state of panic? If I missed the answer somewhere else, sorry!

I agree, EandCMom. It sounds like it's the title that's bothering her. Or maybe not getting to speak at graduation. I was 1st in my graduating class and was on the fast track to become valedictorian...until a guy moved to the district during sophomore year. He got an A in Adv. Math and I got a B, so he was 1st in the class and I was second. I was devistated...until I found out that salutatorian got to speak at graduation, too. Then it was fine with me.

Not to swim upstream here, but I have to admit that I see the school's point: if that's the way the policy is written, and it was written that way all along, then it's really too bad for the girl. Do I think it's a good policy? NO! And hopefully it will be re-written after this. But if that's what it says, then that's the way it is.

On the bright side, I really can't imagine it will matter to the girl. If she includes a copy of this article or adds this quote to her resume:


then not being valedictorian won't matter one whit for her.

They are penalizing her for being smart! It stinks, bigtime.

Lorel

I was valedictorian of my class. That was the year they changed the policy so that the valedictorian did NOT speak at graduation. There was a class speaker voted on by the class only. I still have no idea why they made that rule and I have always wondered if I should have taken it personally. I'm thinking I probably don't want to know.....

LOL acs!!!! I'm sure it had nothing to do with you!!!

Now if they changed the policy back the next year.......

You know, I didn't go to graduation the next year and I never tried to find out who the speakers were. I just didn't want to know! I can tell you that in my two years on the debate team I never won a single debate and had a tendency to burst into uncontrollable giggles. Perhaps the teachers were just trying to spare everyone from the embarrassment of having to watch me collapse on stage in hysterics.

My daughter's high school still ranks students (she is no. 1 of junior class of about 400). But they don't call the no. 1 valedictorian any more. In addition, the valedictorian does not speak at graduation. Instead, anyone can apply to speak. Apparently, a student suicide which may or may not have any thing to do with ranking freaked the school district out.

DD complained once or twice because she worked really hard to get to this point. But it does not seem to bother her that much. I think she is so ready to leave HS behind.

To us, whether she is called valedictorian makes absolute no difference. But some scholarships are only given to valedictorian. For example, a student can get a full ride from Dominican U of California if he has an official title of "valedictorian". In that case, the school district is doing a dis-service to its students.

Well, if you makes you feel any better, it does seem like an awful lot of pressure.
The valedictorian at our high school was just asked to return his medal because he was caught plagarizing his speech.

Yikes! Man, just write a crappy "As we move forward into the future" speech, for goodness sake! Don't plagiarize something so...unimportant!

(Not that plagiarizing important stuff is okay. But at least that makes sense to me!)

Our HS (100 years ago) didn't weight its valedictorian selection. That was close to 20 year ago (ok not 100) and it didn't personally impact me and I'm still mad that the kid who had his own math class the last two years wasn't my class valedictorian over a well-graded but lesser challenged student. oh well.